Grain-unloading sink for elevators.



PI R. MoQUBEN. GRAIN UNLOADING SINK FOR ELEVATORS.

PATENTED MAY'ZI, 1907.

APPLICATIONFILED MAY 2, 1906.

2 SHEETS- BHEET 1.

WWI/ aws. @"z/ fHE uaxms PETERS ca. WASHINGTON, a c.

N0. 854,877. I PATENTED MAY 21, 1907.

F. R. 'MQQUEBN. GRAIN UNLOADING SINK FOR ELEVATORS.

APPLIOATION FILED, MAY 2, 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

MKM Y 'INE uamus PETERS ca, vasmmn'o 'lv 0.1:.

FINLAY ROBERT MCQUEEN, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

GRAIN-UNLOADING SINK FOR ELEVATORS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 21, 1907.

Application filed May 2, 1906. Serial No. 314,819.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FINLAY ROBERT MCQUEEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grain-Unloading Sinks for Elevators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and eXact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object to improve the construction and operation of grain unloading sinks for use in connection with grain elevators, and especially for use in connection with grain elevators where several parallel tracks run along by the side of the elevator structure.

To the above ends the invention consists of novel devices and combinations of devices hereinafter described and defined in the claims.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view with some parts shown in diagram, some parts in section and others broken away, illustrating my invention as applied beneath several parallel railway tracks and arranged to deliver the grain to the pit or boot of a grain elevating leg located within the work-house of an elevator structure. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section taken approximately on the irregular line 00 x of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged section taken on the line 00 m Fig. 1, some parts being broken away. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 3, some parts being broken away; Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken on the line a x of Fig. 3, some parts being broken away.

The numeral 1 indicates a portion of the work-house of an elevator structure.

The numeral 2 indicates the leg of an end less grain elevator, and the numeral 3 indicates the gram pit or receiving hopper thereof, which parts may be of the usual, or any suitable construction and arrangement. The leg 2, and at least a portion of the pit 3, are within the said work-house. As shown, three railway tracks are run parallel along the side of the elevator structure, the rails 4 thereof being, as shown, supported by beams 5 of a platform that overlies a working pit 6.

A car standing on the inner track is adapted to discharge grain into a hopper 7; a car standing on the intermediate track is adapted to discharge grain into a hopper 8 and a car standing on the outer track is adapted to discharge grain into a'hopper 9, all of which hoppers are rigidly supported from the beams 5, or other portions of the platform which overlies the working pit 6. The hoppers are constructed with their bottoms in a direction longitudinally of the tracks, and at their lower portions terminate in narrowed portions 10 that are alined with each other transversely with the track. The narrowed portions 10 of the several hoppers are formed with a plurality of transversely extended inverted shaped parts 11 that divide the same into a plurality of small discharge hoppers 12, having open bottoms that are adapted to be closed by valves or gates 13, as best shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. The several valves or gates 13 that co-operate with the supplemental discharge hoppers of a particular main hopper, are all connected together for common movements, preferably as illustrated in the drawings wherein they are shown as riveted or bolted to the upper flanges of a pair of angle bars 14. The depending flanges of these angle bars 14 run on grooved wheels 15 that are mounted on fixed bearing pedestals 16 suitably secured within the working pit 6.

Means is provided for independently operating the valves or gates 13 of a particular pit from a point within the work-house 1.. Each of these devices as shown comprises an endless cable 17 which is mounted to run over guide sheaves 18, mounted one within the pit of the work-house, and one at the eX- tended end of the pit 6. Each of these cables 17 is as shown attached at 19 (see Fig. 4.) to a projecting end of one of the valves 13. Also to each cable 17 is attached the lower end of an operating lever 20, the upper end of which extends upward through a slot 21 in the floor of the work-house, and the intermediate portion of which is pivoted to a hearing 22 shown as supported from and below the floor of the work-house.

Running transversely of the tracks within the pit 6 and below the openings in the supplemental discharge hoppers 12 of the several main hoppers, is an endless belt conveyer 23, the end portions of which run over guide rollers or wheels 24 and 25, mounted in suitable bearings within the pit 6. The shaft of the roller 24 is provided at one end with a pulley 26 over which a power driven belt, not shown, would run to impart movement to the conveyer belt 23 in the direction of the arrow marked adjacent thereto on Fig. 2. The intermediate portion of the conveyer belt 23 runs over idle guide rollers 27 mounted on suitable bearings 28 so as to be supportedfrom the bottom of the pit 6.

The conveyer belt 23 is adapted to simultaneously receive grain from all three of the bins 7, 8 and 9, and to deliver the grain into the receiving spout of the elevator boot or pan 3. The grain delivered into the boot 3 will of course be elevated in the usual way by the belt conveyer, not shown, which works within the elevator leg 2.

Hitherto, in grain hoppers of the character above described, the grain h as been discharged through a sink opening, hence a very great contraction of the bottom of the hopper has been required. By providing the hopper with a plurality of small supplemental discharge hoppers, a very slight contraction of the hopper is required, the discharge of grain from the hopper is evenly distributed, and a large maximum discharge opening is provided. Hitherto it has also been customary to provide an independent discharge spout for each receiving hopper.

By my improved arrangement I have provided means whereby several cars standing side by side on several different tracks may be simultaneously emptied of grain, and the grain therefrom delivered to the same elevating device or devices.

The improved device above described provides a grain unloading apparatus or device of very greatly increased sul'liciency which may be installed at a comparatively small cost.

That I claim is;

1. A hopper having in its bottom a plurality of supplemental discharge hoppers and a plurality of connected valves or gates movable to simultaneously open and to simultaneously close the discharge openings of said discharge hoppers, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a hopper which is contracted in cross section, and is provided in its contracted bottom portion with a plurality of longitudinally alined supplemental discharge hoppers, of a plurality of connected valves or gates movable to simultaneously open and to simultaneously close the discharge openings of said discharge hoppers, substantially as described.

3. The combination with an elevator or similar structure, of a plurality of tracks running along the side thereof, hoppers underlying the several tracks and lying transversely of the several tracks and provided in their bottoms with discharge openings, valves for opening and closing said discharge openings, a common conveyer running transversely of said tracks and located directly under the alined hoppers and arranged to receive the grain directly from any or all of said hoppers, at the same or at different times, and to deliver the same to the said elevator structure, substantially as described.

4. The combination with an elevator structure and an elevator leg and receiving boot of several tracks running along the side of said elevator structure, transversely alined receiving hoppers underlying the several tracks, and provided in their bottoms each with a multiplicity of supplemental discharge hoppers, valves for opening and closing the discharge openings of said supplemental hoppers, a means for operating said valves from within, or in the vicinity of said elevator structure, and an endless oonveyer belt running transversely under the several tracks and the several hoppers, and arranged to receive grain discharged therefrom, and to deliver the same to said elevator boot, sub stantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FINLAY ROBERT MCQUEEN.

W'itnesses:

F. D. MERCHANT, H. D, KILeoRE. 

